Security
Ethiopia’s Conflicts Tied to Horn of Africa Violence: Global Peace Index
Addis Standard · last week · Read the Full Story on Addis Standard
AI SUMMARY
The 2026 Global Peace Index ranks Ethiopia 138th and warns that its internal conflicts are part of an interconnected regional conflict system across the Horn of Africa.
- Ethiopia ranked 138th out of 163 countries in the 2026 Global Peace Index with a score of 2.648, improving by one position from the previous edition.
- The Institute for Economics & Peace assesses peacefulness through 23 indicators grouped into societal safety and security, ongoing conflict, and militarisation.
- The Horn of Africa is described as an interconnected conflict system where instability spreads via displacement, arms movements, illicit economies, and armed groups.
- Sudan's ongoing war since April 2023 is identified as a major driver of regional conflict dynamics, generating large-scale displacement and weapons proliferation.
- Regional rankings in the 2026 index include Djibouti at 105th, Eritrea at 128th, Kenya at 132nd, Somalia at 153rd, South Sudan at 158th, and Sudan at 162nd.
- Global peacefulness deteriorated for the 12th consecutive year, with 99 countries recording declines and active state-based conflicts reaching post-World War II highs.
- Heightened security tensions persist within Ethiopia, particularly across the Tigray, Amhara, and Oromia regions.
- Tensions in Tigray have intensified with forces massing along shared borders, compounded by worsening relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea and the unfulfilled Pretoria agreement.
- Hostilities in Sudan's Blue Nile State have disrupted humanitarian operations and forced civilians to flee across the border into Ethiopia.
- Unverified allegations from a Sudanese official in February 2026 claimed that RSF and SPLM-N forces entered Sudan from Ethiopia through Benishangul-Gumuz.
Related
South African Women Protest Rising Gender-Based Violence and Killings
Deutsche Welle · 18 minutes ago
UN Rights Chief Urges Ethiopian Parties to Avoid Full-Scale War
Addis Standard · 4 hours ago
Egypt Independent: "War Returns to Tigray as Former Enemies Form New Alliance"
Egypt Independent · 4 hours ago
Human Rights Watch Calls for War Crime Probe into Tigray Airstrike
Human Rights Watch · 10 hours ago